Sadly, Princess Diana never got to meet either of her sons' wives, having died when Prince William was 15 and Prince Harry was just 12 years old. Since the late princess missed out on experiencing a relationship with Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, it's a topic that many royal commentators have speculated about—especially when it comes to the Duchess of Sussex. Now, Diana's friend Richard Kay has opened up about what she might've thought about Prince Harry's wife.
During the latest episode of the Daily Mail's "Palace Confidential" show, Kay—who serves as the publication's editor at large—answered questions from royal fans about Princess Diana. One named Debster wrote in and asked, "About how long after meeting Meghan Markle would she have sent her packing? I think five minutes, tops."
Kay took his glasses off and laughed at the question, stating, "Well, I hate to disagree with you, Debster, and none of us really know, but I think there is something about Meghan that Diana would have found not just intriguing, but slightly liberating."
He added that Diana "would have liked Meghan's independence and the fact that she was able to offer Harry an escape route, if you like, from royal duty" and said he believed the princess "initially would have been very welcoming" to Meghan.
His comments echo Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, who told the Mirror in 2023, "I think Diana would have embraced Meghan [and] I think she would have tried to understand her."
During the episode of "Palace Confidential," Kay continued that when it comes to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moving to California, he thought Diana would've approved—but there was another aspect of Prince Harry's life that wouldn't have gone over so well with his mother.
"I think she would have admired Harry's decision to settle in America. She wouldn't have admired, however, the rift with William," Kay said.
The editor—who was a dear friend of Diana's "in the last five or six years of her life" and was the last person she called before her 1997 death—isn't the first person to share this view on Harry and William's relationship. In 2022, her biographer Andrew Morton said that the late royal would have been "mortified" by the situation.
During an episode of the Mirror’s podcast, “Pod Save the Queen,” Morton said that “there is no question about it, she’d be mortified that William and Harry have got themselves into this emotional tangle."
Morton continued, "She always said to me on numerous occasions that Harry was William’s wingman, that he was the second boy born into the royal family," adding, "She really felt that Harry was there to support William in a very lonely job. She would find it very difficult that they are not communicating, at least not in public."
